Saturday, October 10, 2015

Savory Pumpkin and Feta Pie

Nothing makes me realize more vividly that another year has just past by than the mountains of orange pumpkins piling up in my local food stores. And each year I look for another recipe to use as much as possible of that giant Halloween pumpkin.

Unlike most other fruits and vegetables, which these days always grow at some point somewhere else, in a different climate zone, pumpkins are very seasonal. They appear in September and October and usually after Halloween it is hard to find them anymore. So, this pumpkin season, I would like to try two new pumpkin recipes.

The first idea, for a pumpkin and feta pie, comes from the Greek culinary tradition. It is similar to a classic spanakopita with the pumpkin filling replacing the spinach. However, in all the Greek recipes I found, dry mint was also added to the pumpkin-feta filling and, when I tried it for the first time, the taste of the mint was too dominant and overshadowed the delicate taste of the pumpkin, which is what I was hoping would give this pie its special character. So, when I was making it for the second time, I replaced the mint with a dash of dried thyme and I think this worked much better. But I also think that just a plain pumpkin-feta filling would work as well.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and fry leeks until transparent. Set them aside.
3. On the same pan heat another 2 tbsp of oil and add grated pumpkin. Fry it for about 5 minutes until it softens.

4. Add leeks to the pan with the pumpkin filling, mix them in, and simmer for another 3 minutes.
5. Pour milk into a large bowl. Add eggs and beat together. Add crumbled Feta, pepper, and thyme (if used). Mix all the ingredients. Add fried pumpkin to the bowl and gently mix everything together.
6. Grease the baking dish with oil and spread the first filo sheet, so that its edges hang out over the dish. Brush in some olive oil on it and put another layer. Follow the same procedure with the remaining sheets.
7. Spread the pumpkin filling on top of the filo. Fold the overhanging pieces of the pastry in and brush them with olive oil.

8. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the filling is set and the filo becomes gold.

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Welcome to Pots and Frills. I was inspired to start this blog by friends, who are often asking for my recipes. To every "How do you make it?" I will now be able to answer "Go to my blog and find out". I will be giving away my own cookbook as I will be writing it, including my tips, my secrets, and my best ideas that work not only for the advanced cooks but also for those who need help in the culinary world. I hope you'll find my dishes simple to make but sophisticated in taste, original, and alluring in presentation.
Some of these recipes are my own inventions but, more often, I have just added my personal twist to something already familiar. These recipes come from all over the world: my native country Poland, other European countries I used to live in, and from the US where I have been living since 1996. I hope you find these recipes worth trying. I believe they will make your life easier but, at the same time, more exciting and tasty.
I also hope you will enjoy the short stories attached to some of my recipes and I encourage you to participate from time to time in my culinary journey on this blog and share your impressions.
Bogna